Black Master Reborn: A Change in the Air
by Black Confession
Summary: First in the Black Master Reborn series. Appears under the moon, disappears under the sun. AU, small bits of RLOC.
1. Prologue

I sort of...got bored with my other story, I know I'll finish it, just not now. In the mean time, I'm going with my spark of inspiration (hopefully not as short lived) that keeps parading around in my head screaming "Write me!".

I've recently gotten my hands on all the books with werewolves in them, as many as I can. So, as of now, my computer desk is covered with them. I think you've gotten the point so far.

Well here goes nothing.

**Pronuciation- **Kurosu...ka-ROO-so

Prologue:

**Encounters**

The world was covered in darkness. The moon had swelled like a seven-month belly, edging further to being full. But with darkness, came danger. Danger that a nine year-old girl should never see. So it would seem.

Unless you're a part of it.

The side walk was rough under my feet, I'd run them nigh to ribbons the day before. I gazed up at the streetlight as I passed under it, in the process catching the silhouette of someone looking out the window at me as I walked down the street.

"Dear, are you alright?" I tottered a few steps into the street at the sudden shout. "Do you need a place to stay?"

"N-no," I replied. I waved idly at the woman who had shouted. "'M f-fine." I waited until she retreated before crossing to the darker side of the street. Humming absent-mindedly, I pressed my tricorner hat over my eyes and hurried down the alleyway between the old warehouses. _A maze,_ I thought contentedly. I always enjoyed doing mazes in the colouring books Aunt Esme bought me.

"Not so tough, are you, werewolf?" someone cackled. I froze and looked around. No, no, they weren't talking to me.

"Watch it, he might bite!" a girl giggled. There was the horrible sound of flesh hitting flesh. I gave an involuntary shake, reached for my pocket knife, flipped out the blade, and threw it. The metal whirled through the air and burrowed into the dirt. There was a pause.

There was a cold laugh. "Morgan. Morgan, show yourself!" I debated a bit, swaying subtly. I tossed off my hat, and marched down the alleyway. I stopped, shooting them all a golden glare before allowing a malicious smile to cross my lips. My eyes flicked once to the bruised and bleeding boy staring at me with a widened gaze. "Kurosu Morgan."

"Hello, meat," I growled, licking my lips. "You do know how dangerous it is to be out alone? Lest of all in place like Dufftown?" I retrieved my pocket knife and snapped it shut.

"Go home, little girl," the oldest said, a boy of sixteen. "Go back to were you came from, werewolf."

I felt my eyes flash yellow and the girl gasped. The bleeding boy looked curious...and vaguely familiar. "Why? Why can't I join the fun?"

"Six against one doesn't seem so fair, bitch."

"You know the truth of your words, I'll give you that." I pursed my lips and piped a thin howl.

The young man's grin faltered. "What are you doing, werewolf?" he demanded.

"Evening the odds," I said before giving a laugh that was more or less a bark. There was a chorus of five howls quickly followed by harsh cackles. Footsteps echoed on the metal roofs of the warehouses and softly dieing laughter. One by one, the Five showed up, each bearing wide grins and looking considerably scruffier than usual.

"Evening, cousin," Lucien said, dropping from the nearest warehouse and giving me a small bow. I rolled my eyes as her turned to the group. "Meat." The rest of the Five joined him, grins widening, knuckles cracking, nails and teeth lengthening.

I know what you're thinking. How can six nine year-olds take on six people ranging from sixteen to ten, and save a bruised and bleeding boy from bruising and bleeding further?

Honestly?

I don't know. I haven't gotten that far.

Life's complicated.

Distracted by the Fortunate Five's arrival, the group of meat advanced on them and I slipped around them. My hair fell in my face and I watched sections lighten and darken until it was the gold brindle of my wolf-skin, an attempt to keep myself from panicking further. I gave one last glance at the meat before helping the boy to his feet and leading him away.

"You alright?" I asked once we had gotten a safe distance.

"Yeah," he said weakly. I turned my tawny-gold gaze to his wounds and tutted softly. He winced a bit every few steps.

"Just a bit more," I told him before pausing. "Got a name?"

"Remus Lupin."

I just about flinched. Remus Lupin was the name of the boy that G-Paw bit. I nipped my lip and huffed. "Really, now?"

"What?"

"You were bit by Fenrir Greyback," I mumbled, completely separated from my stutter.

"You know him?"

"Grandfather." I shook my head, whipping my brindle hair around. "Don't judge me." A silence settled over us as I walked up the driveway and began banging on the door. "Mum!" I shouted, not caring who I woke up. I saw a light flicker upstairs. "Mumsy, open up! Pa, c'mon! Open!" I tugged at the door handle a few times. "Open the door! Please?" I added quickly. The door flew open, except it wasn't Mumsy or Pa.

It was G-Paw.

Streaked in blood and grinning.


	2. Chapter 1

Short! A bridge. The next one will be longer.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own. I am merely taking the chracters on a fieldtrip.

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Chapter 1:

**Hidden Treasures**

"I honestly don't believe you, Lee," Abbie said, giving a wide yawn and trotting after me. "I think you've got too many mental issues."

I snorted. "I don't believe myself." I ran my hands down the trunk of a tree, as if hoping the bark would clarify my sanity. "We knew nothing about Kurosu Morgan until my dream. Unless you count Dufftown. Everything adds up, but it just doesn't make sense!" I pounded a fist on the tree.

"We could go to Dufftown. We _should_ go to Dufftown. But, then again, you've got issues. Issues."

-x-

Dufftown is a dark place. It's always been a dark place. The people are dark, the allies are dark, and the...well, it's _dark_. Rumors have floated about that city for years. Lycanthropy, vampirism, crap like that. Everyone thinks they're all stories, just stories, and few know the truth. The Dufftown Graveyard is the last place you want to be. Especially Friday the thirteenth.

But, then again, I'm just a superstitious nut.

We ran down the eerie, night-coloured streets and hopped the fence to the graveyard. The Morgan monument was never hard to find. We arrived at the winged wolf in mere seconds, the tall stone base glisten black in the poorly lit environment.

"Remember the riddle?" Abbie asked, crouching on one side.

"'Appears under the moon, disappears under the sun'," I said, running my hands along an odd hour-glass-shaped piece of stone. I lifted it off it's base and examined it. At one end was a sun, and the other a crescent moon. I stared. "Hey," I called softly. "Look." She took the piece from me and I bent to examine the riddle. _Appears under the moon, disappears under the sun. When one and one are equal, the path will be revealed. _"'When one and one are equal, the path will be revealed.'"

"Then," Abbie said slowly. "There's got to be another one." She walked to the other end of the monument and traced the second circle. "It's missing." She glanced around and her gaze met nothing. "It's gone."

"No, it's not," I said, looking at her. "You cannot see."

"I can see better than you."

"The second can only be seen by wolf eyes." I walked slowly to the fence, picked up the second stone piece, and came back. "Set the sun," I told Abbie. She nodded and placed the piece in its original position. I turned the second over and placed it in the circular groove, moon side up.

The earth shook like thunder. The monument shifted to reveal a flight of stairs leading to an underground tunnel. We exchanged glances as torches flared on their own accord. Taking deep breaths, we proceeded to the underground.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

**Revealed**

-Remus's POV-

The first time I saw her, I could tell she was different. She was walking cautiously around the other side of the castle, her shoulder pressed against the stone wall and collecting bits of dirt. Her face was rather confused; _disoriented_, is a better term. Her legs were covered in thick black mud, the same I'd heard the older students saying that if you stood in one spot long enough, it would suck you in up to your knees. There was only one place I knew of where you could find it: the Barrens in Dufftown.

She turned, whispering something to the girl following her as a teacher appeared. She jerked her head in the direction of the castle, pointed subtly at the teacher, and then it seemed she to point at me. The teacher said something to her and she spun on her heel. He pointed at the girls' mud-coated skin and then gestured at the castle. The second, the girl with curly blond hair, stepped forward. They both began bartering softly before they ended up being guided in my direction. I shrunk.

As they came closer, I could here their conversation. "You're an idiot, do you know that, Kurosu?" the blond snarled at the other, who ran a hand through her waist-length, wavy hair.

"W-Well," Kurosu said, tapping a finger gently against her lower lip. "I-I've considered it. Never a-a-accepted it."

"I'm serious! You drag me through the Dufftown Graveyard--"

"I d-did not _drag_ you, A-A-Abbie. You w-_wanted_ to go. You didn't huh-have to." Kurosu cast a glance around, her eyes a dark-rimmed amber and awfully shifty.

Abbie stepped in front of her, causing her to stop. "I want to ask you a question." Kurosu raised her eyebrows. "Did you know you're an arrogant, self-centered bitch?" Her lip rose briefly away from her teeth, showing slightly pointed canines. "I can do that, too," Abbie mocked, imitating her and showing the same pointed result. Her companion lowered her head, out of view from most, and glared. A horrible image popped into my head: a brindle wolf, so large its shoulders would reach the waist of a full grown man; black lips pulled away from bloodstained teeth. Abbie jumped back, startled, and stumbled backward into me.

The image dissolved from my head as we both fell. She gave a small shriek and landed with her head hitting the ground. I flinched and heard her give a small muffled sob. The same teacher made his way to where we lay, a crumbled heap of flesh. He roughly pushed Kurosu out of the way and lifting me to my feet.

"You alright, son?" he asked. I nodded as he turned his attention to the girl lying on the ground. Kurosu's face was emotionless. "You two," he said, pointing from Abbie to Kurosu. "Are going to get into huge trouble." He lifted Abbie with a bit of difficulty.

"If you d-drop her--" Kurosu began, but I cut her off, suddenly filled with a rush of rage.

"You threaten him, but you caused it. What kind of a friend are you?"

She looked at me, eyes narrowed. Suddenly, she leaned forward and whispered in my ear. "R-Rattle the c-c-hage, the wolf will b-b-bite. En't that right, w-werewolf?" The last word was spoken as if it pained her to say. She turned and ran after the teacher, hair flying and her gait rapidly increasing with each broken step.

-x-

-Kurosu's POV-

I stared with a certain amount of dementia at the floor, considering what just happened. I was fool, they were right, a fool--I didn't pay attention and now I'm here, without a clue why. Admittedly, I love Dufftown; but Dufftown doesn't like me.

"K'rosu, ge' offa the floor," Abbie said irritably, and I stand, rubbing my birthmark so hard it turned red. I shoved my hand into my pocket and pulled out the penknife. "Lee, don--" I look at her eyebrows raised, head lowered, eyes glowing in the shadow of my tri-cornered hat. I flicked out the blade and passed it gently across my forearm. My eyes turned a shade of yellow and I gave a small growl.

I walk across the room, pressing my wrist to her nose and flinching as I felt her fangs pierce my flesh. The door jerks open and she panics. My eyes wander to the terrified boy, the one I know to be Remus Lupin. "'Sall r-right, Sangre," I slur, watching him close the door and back against the wall with a curious expression. "He n-n-knows."

I shut my eyes, listening to the sickening yet familiar sound of blood leaving my body, being sucked away to satisfy someone else. I can see the dark shape of Remus against the red field of the backs of my eyelids. It's almost disturbing. I feel myself floating over the edge, one foot extended for the drop bellow, the other supporting my weight and that's when it _stops_--when it all just stops and you fall back, safe from the dark clutches of death.

I open my eyes and walk to one of the cupboards, extract a strip of bandage, and begin wrapping my wrist. I tear the connection with my teeth and pinned it to the rest of the gauze. I cast a glance in Remus's direction and he's pale, almost like a ghost. I catch a glimpse of myself in the polished silver bowl and understand; my skin is white from loss of blood, my eyes are yellow and the wolf is so apparent on my face my heart starts racing with fear.

Fear of losing _control_.


End file.
